Metascore
84 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 30
  2. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. This is without a doubt the best Star Wars game ever created.
  2. The improved single-player games are worthwhile enough on their own, but if you can find well connected online matches, multiplayer games will keep you addicted for months.
  3. Authentic and graphically lovely reproductions of every significant character and location from all six films, complete with a range of troop classes to choose from, all with their own weapon sets, a host of vehicles to use, spectacular space battles and fully playable Hero characters.
  4. Space battles can be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to them, it's pretty amazing. [Dec 2005, p.82]
  5. With gameplay nearly identical to its predecessor, Battlefront II takes every aspect of the original Battlefront and runs with it.
  6. Far superior to the game which spawned it in all areas. The landscapes look great, the character system provides some depth of play as well as a sense of worth, and the space combats are the "twitchiest" I've seen without being uncontrollable.
  7. Unlike some of the movies, everything about Star Wars Battlefront II is an improvement over its predecessor - exactly what a sequel should be, and then some. [PSW]
  8. Perhaps only a third party can produce a title that so glorifies a series that revolutionised cinema, because it's Pandemic and not LucasArts that has created a game that lives up to the vast shadow created by the films.
  9. 90
    As a more casual shooter, the game is an enormous improvement over its predecessor, fixing all the problems with lag, graphics, and shallow gameplay that kept that game from being the masterpiece it deserved to be.
  10. The signature piece of Battlefront II is the ship-to-ship combat... This element makes Battlefront II feel much more like the complete Star Wars experience. [Dec 2005, p.108]
  11. 90
    LucasArts has added a ton of new features to an already great game, resulting in one of the best Star Wars games ever. The Force is strong with this one, indeed.
  12. More of an incremental change over the original game than a full-blown sequel, but those increments are pretty good ones.
  13. The movies may be done, but with games like Battlefront II, I have a feeling that the best in Star Wars is yet to come. [Dec 2005, p.152]
  14. An extended (and actual) single-player campaign that'll keep you busy for days while taking you on a tour of a galaxy far, far away helps balance out an uneven online experience that's amazing when it's good.
  15. 85
    The notion of hopping into an X-Wing, shooting down a flight of TIE fighters and then boarding an enemy Star Destroyer to disable its shields is one that has been deeply rooted in many a Gen X'ers mind. This is now possible, and while space combat is not as refined or complex as say X-Wing Alliance, it opens up the game beyond ground-based combat.
  16. 85
    The sequel to last year's third-person/real-time strategy game set in Star Wars land once again manages to be the 'Nam of Wars games. In other words, the disc does a heck of job of trying to make you feel like you're really "in the sh.t" on Coruscant.
  17. Battlefront II is another serving of a meal we've already had. It tastes a little better and looks a little fresher. I have no regrets playing through it and urge every Star Wars fan to check it out. Just beware that what you're getting is not innovation – it's just more fun.
  18. Battlefront II is a good sequel, but it's got too much in common with the first game to make the upgrade a no-brainer.
  19. As with the last Battlefront, I still feel like I'm controlling cheap plastic toys rather than real soldiers, tanks, or spaceships. Everything looks and feels so insubstantial, with no tangible weight or physics.
  20. New space combat maps and playable Jedi represent some incremental improvements, but for the most part, Battlefront II treads familiar ground, which is great for Star Wars fanatics and fans of team-based online shooters.
  21. Take away the costumes and the lasers and you've still got an excellent example of how to produce multiplayer bedlam. [Dec 2005, p.110]
  22. A fun romp that stays interesting no matter how you play it.
  23. Not got broadband? You may want to lop off a point. [Nov 2005, p.82]
  24. It doesn't do anything drastically different and in some ways is quite by the numbers, and is still very reliant on the multiplayer options, but for Star Wars fans already pining for the mythical Episodes VII, VIII, and IX it will form a neat addition the collection.
  25. The series may seem a little aged after just 12 months - something underlined by the superior alternative of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat which is already available - but there's a lot here to get to grips with, especially given that multiplayer effectively triples the potential, with offline and online modes fleshing out the action.
  26. By fixing some of the prior title's technical wrongs, and by including space-based combat and an attempt at an actual storyline, Pandemic and Lucas Arts have finally produced a game that has a little bit of something for every Star Was fan and non-fan alike.
  27. Basically, Star Wars Battlefront II improves on every aspect of the original Battlefront. Playable hero characters are the flashiest and most memorable improvement, but the new combat modes and troop types help make this a vast enhancement over the first title in the series.
  28. It captures the thrills of the original, and spices up a few areas while adding some new things. Unfortunately, space battles drag down the total package; but at least it's trying something different.
  29. Armed with a healthy Internet connection, this game will hold at bay the forces of boredom for months. Switch off that connection, though, and witness the biggest turn to the lame side since the new Star Wars movies.
  30. 70
    And so more than its predecessor, the faults and quirks of Battlefront II stand out and become glaring because the new adds feel unpolished while the old gripes manage to rear their heads for a second time.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 105 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 51
  2. Negative: 5 out of 51
  1. [Anonymous]
    8
    This is one of the single greatest games ever, just like its predicessor. Although it is, yes, graphicly inferior to SWBF1, it has its own shining places of glory. Space fights, Jedi, Objectives, its all great. Its just that, space battles aren't that great. It takes way too long just to gte from one cruiser to another, and its really, really, hard to shoot down another ship. It can be one of the most enjoyable parts of the game, if you do it with a buddy. The Jedi.... where can i start? If you want a game where you can live through an entire level as a jed, go play Revenge of the Sith. I got killed by pilots( now called engineers) countless times. Of course, it is very rewarding when you get to slaughter clones, rebels, ewoks and everything inbetween. Why an 8? 1) The space battles are very frusterating. 2) Average graphics. 3) Lack of new additions. But the rise of The Empire mode is sooooo cool. THe Jedi Temple level is pretty hard, but rewarding. Full Review »
  2. The best Star Wars game I have ever played. There is nice mode which allows for strategic conquest of certain parts of the galaxy in different eras, which in itself is fantastic. Full Review »
  3. This game has some really memorable and solid game play, if it had all the maps from the previous battlefront, along with some of the features (like being able to go prone, or air and land combat maps) then I would give it maybe a 10, or at least a 9.5. The story mode is well put together, even though it's not too much like today's campaigns, it's more of a storytelling style, from a journal of a clone in this elite group called The 501st. The story ties in a lot of loose ends that were in the movies, like what the inhabitants of Kamino did after order 66 was carried out, it mainly takes place during episode 3, between episode 3 and 4, episode 4, and episode 5. The combat is either space or land, like I mentioned before, Battlefront 1 had some air and land combat, this has space battles, with giant star ships. The space battle game style is very well put together, this is one of my favorite third party titles on the ps2. Land battles are pretty great, on the PC, there was the ability to have crap loads of AI, but it isn't that great because of the bugs. The PS2 however, is pretty much bug free and has some nice controls. Galactic conquest is another mode to play, you take control of a capital ship and you buy upgrades for your troops and conquer enemy planets. There is also a huge variety when picking sides and your class, a very well put together game overall, only one problem,,, THE AI IS SO DUMB, the AI on your team that is,, they throw grenades at walls which bounce back and kill them it really sucks, and you need to get good at this game to enjoy it, like,, REALLY GOOD, I am able to slaughter tons of AI with the right setting and weapons, so I am fine, but on the PC version my AI palls die VERY FAST, it's like a genocide (to far?). So, if you won't know if you're good at this game, get the PS2 version, Xbox version is probably the same, but hold off on the PC version, get the PC version when you start to get good, and you want to play against others online, PC version still has some people playing on steam. One last thing, a game company is working on battlefront 3, pandemic is not working on it, which is the company that made it before, (Spark or something is making it now) Finally as a battlefront fan, I feel i should say this DO NOT BUY BATTLEFRONT RENEGADE SQUADRON FOR THE PSP it is a horrible horrible game, a disappointment and a middle finger to the fans, made by REBELLION, a company that has made a ton of bad games. Thank you for reading, see you on the battlefield soldier. Full Review »